-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The love of money may be the root of all evil according to the Bible , but that has n't stopped bookmakers from offering odds on who will emerge from the white smoke as the next pope .

At odds as low as 2-1 , Cardinal Angelo Scola , the archbishop of Milan , is the bookmakers ' favorite to succeed Benedict XVI , who Thursday becomes the first pope to step down for almost 600 years .

Those betting an African will take the Catholic Church 's top job for the first time will be happy to hear Ghana 's Cardinal Peter Turkson is running a close second at 5-2 , while Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone , the Vatican Secretary of State , is currently running third with odds of 3-1 .

MORE : Conclave to elect new pope starts Tuesday

Claire Davies , a spokeswoman at Irish bookmaker Paddy Power , said more than Â # 300,000 -LRB- $ 450,000 -RRB- in bets on the next pope have been placed since Benedict 's resignation -- and that 's before the papal conclave to choose the next church head has even started .

`` It 's our biggest non-sporting event of the year , '' Davies told CNN , `` and we expect the betting to really pick up as we head towards the conclave . ''

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer round out Paddy Power 's top five -- and though betting on the next pope is illegal in the U.S. , the Irish bookmaker is offering 20-1 odds on Cardinal Timothy Dolan , America 's top Catholic .

But Vatican insiders are n't the only prospective pontiffs punters can wager on in the hopes that a puff of white smoke will finally put their bank accounts into the black .

Davies says nine more bets have been placed on Father Dougal Maguire -- the dimwitted fictional priest from Irish television sitcom `` Father Ted '' and a 10,000-1 underdog -- than for Claudio Hummes , a Brazilian cardinal who also has the added benefit of being a real person .

Paddy Power says it has also drawn 20 bets at 1,000-1 that U2 singer Bono will be the next pope , and another five on Richard Dawkins , the famously outspoken atheist and scientist , at an ominous 666-1 . One British bookmaker is even offering 10,000-1 odds that disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong will be chosen to head up the church .

But the bookies ' odds are n't necessarily the best indicator of who the next pope will be , and a phrase repeated by Cardinal Javier Barragan of Mexico is worth remembering : `` He who enters the conclave as a possible pope comes out a cardinal . ''

According to Davies , Pope Benedict was 20-1 after his predecessor 's death in 2005 before rising to 6-1 at the start of the conclave -- `` up with the favorites , but not a nailed-on certainty . ''

While the next pope will almost certainly be chosen from among the cardinals set to attend the conclave at the Vatican within the next few weeks , technically any practicing Catholic can be elected to lead the church .

So if you 're feeling lucky , there 's already one former leader living in Italy who has spare time on his hands . Three-time ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi may be an underdog -- but at 2,500-1 , at least there 's a chance .

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Milan 's Angelo Scola is odds-on favorite to be elected as next pope

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Ghana 's Turkson , Canada 's Ouellet also in top five for UK bookmakers

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Betting on next pope `` biggest non-sporting event of year , '' says Irish bookmaker

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Bono , Richard Dawkins , Silvio Berlusconi among underdogs offered by bookmakers